Method: Adolescents with high-functioning autism and CA- (approximately 15 years) and IQ- (approximately 105–110) matched typically developing adolescents were administered a series of global–local visual tasks, including a traditional task of hierarchical processing, three tasks of configural processing, and a disembedding task that involved rapid perceptual processing.

Results: No group differences were found on either the traditional task of hierarchical processing or on tasks of configural processing. However, group differences were found on the disembedding task as the search for embedded, in relation to isolated stimuli, was slower for the typically developing adolescents but similar for the participants with autism.